


A Novel Encounter.

by Mace_fluff_button



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Bookstores, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-17 16:48:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,846
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29475000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mace_fluff_button/pseuds/Mace_fluff_button
Summary: While browsing his favorite section in his local bookstore, Klaus runs into a familiar figure that has him praising his unusual luck. If fiction has tought him anything, then this could very well be the start to something spectacular.
Relationships: Klaus Hargreeves/David "Dave" Katz
Comments: 10
Kudos: 29





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Little late, but this is kind of Valentine'sy, isn't it? Definitely a nice fluffy break from the heavy topics I got going on in my other fic.

Despite people's perception of Klaus and his impulsive, ditzy nature, he was a lot smarter than he let off, for starters, he liked to read and he read all the time. Maybe it wasn't philosophy or some cryptic old tome he was cracking open on his down time, but reading still counted as reading, no matter the material.

"Pretty sure these people know you by name, by now." Ben commented above him, like the tag along ghost he was, hovering over his shoulder as Klaus slowly browsed his favorite section of his favorite bookstore. His eyes lit up as he spotted a particularly enticing cover, eyes roving over the sweaty, shirtless torso posed cheekily against the maroon background of the title page. -"hmm, 101 ways to seduce a cowboy."-he read aloud, before turning it around to skim the synopsis. -"Harden is a troubled youth, sent away by his parents to learn responsibility and hard work on his great uncle's ranch in Dallas Texas, at first he hates it there and plans to escape and run away into the night, but when his uncle's new farm hand, a tall, handsome and trustworthy southern gentleman by the name of luke, takes him under his wing, Harden soon develops new plans to seduce Luke into committing a little bit of rebellion around the ranch and in his bed."-klaus had a big grin on his face by the time he got to the end of the synopsis, the story sounded right up his alley. He looked over to Ben with his excited face, hoping to find a similar reaction from his long past brother, but the ghost did not seem to return his enthusiasm. 

"I like reading, Klaus, but I'm more of an action, adventure type guy, not….honry broke back mountain fan fics." 

Klaus huffed and rolled his eyes, tossing the book in his basket to add to his growing pile as he made his way towards check out.-"technically, any book is fan fic at this point." 

Ben chuckled, nodding his head in agreement, cause Klaus kind of had a point actually. -"just try not to read out loud tonight, I still have nightmares from when I walked in on you reading werewolf smut, hay watch where you're!-" 

Klaus had turned his head to quip back at Ben, missing the guy that had stepped into the isle. He smacked into him, Klaus stumbling back and landing on his but from the impact, cause the guy was damn solid. All of his books flew out of his basket, the numerous smut titles on full display and Klaus felt his cheeks heat up as he watched the guy bend down to pick them up and hand them back. 

"Sorry about that, I kinda popped out of nowhere there."-the man said with a subtle southern accent, all the while holding Klaus' books out to him. 

Klaus was still in a bit of a daze, from both the collision and the sheer beauty of the man crouched down in front of him. Chiseled features framed by sandy blond curls and pulled together with sky blue eyes. He was like something out of one his novels, not to mention that accent, meeting a guy like this in the gay erotica section of a bookstore was way too tropy to be real, but yet, it was. With a nervous hand, Klaus grabbed his books back and returned them to his basket, eyes never leaving the man's as he uttered out a star struck, -"th-thanks….l-luke." 

The man's eyebrows shot to his hairline, a boyish grin spreading over his lips as he chuckled. -"no, my name's Dave, but I see you've read one of the books I'm on, kind of the reason I'm in this section of the store to begin with."-he told Klaus, standing up and then holding out his hand to help pull Klaus up as well. 

"Huh?"- Was all Klaus could say, the wheels turning but making no smoke. 

The man, Dave, smiled again, reaching into Klaus' basket and pulling out the book he had just been looking at. He held it up and tapped the shirtless figure on the cover. -"that's me"- he said, a light dusting of pink on his cheeks. Klaus' eyes went wide. 

"No way!" He blurted, heart beating out of his chest in excitement. His life felt like a fucking movie right now. 

Dave blushed deeper, setting the book back in the basket before he stuffed his hands in his pockets.-"I do all kinds of modeling, but book covers are definitely the easiest gigs here in New York and I thought I might as well model for the kind of material I like to read myself." 

Klaus felt like he was going to faint, like God couldn't have put him in a more perfect situation. If he actually got a date with Dave, then he swore he would forgive the brat of a deity for everything, absolutely everything that had happened to him in his life, all the way up to this moment right now.-"hay, um, I'm sure you get this all the time, but I was wondering if maybe after I check out my books and if you're free, we could perhaps grab some coffee and talk about our favorite authors or something." 

Dave jolted, looking genuinely surprised that Klaus had asked him out. For a moment he was tongue tied, before he finally started to vigorously nod his head yes in answer. -"yeah, definitely, I'm free, super free, coffee sounds good, I like coffee." 

Klaus couldn't have smiled bigger, if this was anything like the erotic fiction he gorged on in place of drugs, then he could very well guess, that this was the start of something very, very beautiful and sexy, so, so sexy.


	2. Dave's POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dave's point of view in his encounter with klaus at the bookstore, and their coffee date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I caved and wrote a second chapter, I'll finish my wips one day. Sorry in advanced if there's any missed spelling or grammer errors, I do my best to edit on my own.

Dave's pov. 

Modeling wasn't Dave's first choice in a career, believe it or not, he actually wanted to be the one behind the camera instead of in front of it, but things didn't really work out that way, especially when the photographers he apprenticed for kept insisting he join the photos too. At first he hated it, but then he got that first paycheck and his outlook on modeling changed. Soon after that, he got himself an agent and began doing photo shoots for companies like levie's and Calvin Klein. It paid the bills and got him a nice apartment in New York City of all places. But when he wasn't modeling shirtless for big name brands, he was modeling shirtless for cheesy gay romance to erotica covers. Those were his main source of income at the moment and he had to guess he was on at least over 350 titles in that particular genre. He liked it better than the bigger gigs, cause most of the time these authors only needed you to be a torso, a sexy naked torso, but just a torso all the same. It would be hell if his face was actually plastered on that many gay romance novels. Not that he was ashamed of his work or gay fiction, Dave actually only started getting these jobs cause he was a little bit of a gay fiction connoisseur himself. He had a whole library of the stuff stashed in a box under his bed, next to his tissues and hand lotion. So he knew from first hand experience what kind of people got into this stuff and if any of them were to recognize him as the dreamy hunk in their favorite saucy romance, let alone over 350 of them, it would just be too much for him. So for the most part, he kept this side of his modeling career a secret, at least, until today. 

He had done a photoshoot a couple months ago for a city boy meets cowboy whirlwind romance story that sounded honestly, really interesting to him. The author had emailed him last night, saying the book would be on shelves that morning and Dave had been a tad bit quick in clearing out his schedule so he could make a trip to the nearest bookstore. He was making his way to the gay fiction section when someone bumped into him, the man bouncing off his chest and stumbling to the floor with a grunt. He looked down, ready to apologise, but his words got stuck in his throat, cause holy fuck, that was one gorgeous man sprawled out below him. He couldn't help but to think this was a little too on the nose for the kind of situations Dave liked to fantasize about when meeting a handsome stranger. It was only a fraction of a second, but his brain finally caught up to him, reminding him that he had technically knocked this guy down. He crouched down and apologized, trying to play it cool as he picked up the man's dropped books, recognizing a couple titles he had in his own collection and one he was most definitely on, cause it was the book he came here looking for. 

The man stared at him for a short moment, looking at him in an almost starstruck daze and Dave had to wonder if he actually knew who he was. 

"th-thanks….l-luke."-he said, Dave's face instantly contorting in surprise. Then he found himself smiling, chuckling at being mistaken for a character he had merely posed for. It was the closest he ever got to being recognized for the work he did in the gay fiction industry, but he honestly didn't feel creeped out like he thought he would, especially when it was a cute guy like this doing it. Even more to his surprise, he took it a step further. After standing and helping the other man up, he grabbed the copy of 101 ways to seduce a cowboy, holding it up and proclaiming the man on the cover was him. 

"No way!" -he exclaimed, looking like he was meeting his childhood hero. Dave couldn't help the blush heating up his face, his stomach tingling with sparks of excitement. Maybe he kind of liked this after all, he couldn't guess it would automatically score him a date though, not with a guy as beautiful as this, he'd be hard pressed not to believe he wasn't already seeing someone. If anything, this encounter would most likely only amount to an autograph and maybe a selfie between the two of them. It's what happened the last time he got recognized as the sexy guy in the tighty whities on that one billboard. Still didn't stop him from basking in this man's attention for however long it lasted. 

"I do all kinds of modeling, but book covers are definitely the easiest gigs here in New York and I thought I might as well model for the kind of material I like to read myself."-he said, stuffing his hands in his pockets, feeling suddenly self conscious with how much he was revealing, but the man only seemed to look all the more enamoured. 

Then he hit him with,-"hay, um, I'm sure you get this all the time, but I was wondering if maybe after I check out my books and if you're free, we could perhaps grab some coffee and talk about our favorite authors or something." 

Dave jolted, his mouth going dry as he struggled to form words. Then he eventually remembered his motor functions, rapidly shaking his head yes as words just started tumbling out of his mouth-"yeah, definitely, I'm free, super free, coffee sounds good, I like coffee." 

________________________________

Twenty minutes later, Dave and Klaus were sitting inside a nearby Cafe, the two of them in deep discussion about the books and authors they loved, not paying any mind to anyone else in the shop that could overhear them. It was like as soon as they had sat down together and started talking, a little bubble encapsulated them, putting them in their own little world with just each other. Dave had never connected with anyone like this before. Klaus was enigmatic and vibrant and very well spoken when you got him talking. His cheeks were hurting with how much he was smiling and laughing with him. 

"So, how did you get sucked up into the world of cheesy gay romance novels?" Klaus asked, wagging his eyebrows suggestively. 

Dave chuckled, taking a sip from his iced coffee,-"uh, modeling for it or reading it?" 

Klaus tipped his head in thought, -"both, tell me both." 

He scratched his chin, thinking of where to start, -"well, I started reading it when my sister got me a stack of books as a gag gift for my birthday when I was nineteen, which inevitably led me to actually coming out to my family not a month later when everyone found out that I actually kept them instead of throwing them away." 

Klaus looked surprised by that, he couldn't imagine what that must have looked like if Dave was closeted all the way past highschool. Klaus was pretty sure he came out when he was seven, when he used to walk around in his mother's heels and blouses, proclaiming to the entire household that he was going to marry batman. Dave seemed to practically read his mind, flapping his hand in a don't worry about it gesture. -"it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, my mom and dad seemed a little disappointed, but said they had suspected it and that they still loved me, to this day I still get a couple new books for my birthday."-"now, as for the modeling, I got into that cause apparently I was too good looking to be the photographer, not to sound vain at all, but that's literally what happened and I do book covers cause it's 95% of my income, bigger brands are pretty competitive and I don't always get booked."-he shrugged, knowing he sounded a bit like he was gloating, but he can't lie and say being paid to be pretty didn't do a little bit for his self-esteem. But he also didn't exactly want to be that guy, especially not when he was on a date with Klaus, who was so funny and down to earth and smart. He wanted to impress him, but not talk over him and make the discussion about himself. -"so, what about you, where did your interest for these kinds of novels begin?" 

Klaus had taken a bite out of his danish and was chewing as he thought, Dave couldn't help but find it cute. Klaus was really, really cute. -"let's see, this is going to be a little deep for the tone of this conversation, but I started reading them cause they're the only thing that activates my dopamine receptors after over a decade of drug abuse. I'm close to a year sober and I have at least three bookshelves full of gay smut in my apartment." 

Dave's eyes bugged out, not expecting an answer like that. He wasn't sure what to say, he came from a fairly sheltered household and had never met someone who was a drug addict or an ex drug addict. What was the protocol? Did he congratulate him? Say he was sorry? He was pretty sure he shouldn't ask how he got into drugs, that wasn't a first date question. But then again, drugs weren't a first date topic were they. He floundered for a second, brain struggling to make a sentence watching in horror as Klaus' face slowly started to close off, a blank stare replacing his earlier smile. 

"I know not a lot of people like going on dates with an ex druggie, that's why I like to get it out in the open off the bat so I can weed out the bad ones."-klaus scooted out of his chair, grabbing his drink and bag before storming out of the shop.

Dave sat there in silence, not catching up to what had just happened, before an all mighty 'RUN YOU DUMB FUCK!' resounded in his head and just like that he was out of his seat and chasing after Klaus down the sidewalk.- "Hay!"-"Klaus!" -he called out following after him in a light jog, but then Klaus broke out into a sprint. Dave panicked and started sprinting too. It probably didn't look too good to bystanders, watching him chase this guy through the street at full speed, but a tugging in his gut told him, that if he didn't catch Klaus, then he would never find another guy like him again. Their meeting was too on the nose to not be fate. 

He watched as Klaus disappeared behind a corner, he rounded it thinking he had finally caught up to him, but then something was spraying in his face and his eyes were on fucking fire. -"of fuck! holy shit that hurts! What did you do to me?!"

"I maced you asshole! I don't like being chased!"-klaus bit out, definitely sounding angry.

Dave stumbled, grasping for a solid surface before he found the wall, he leaned onto it and slumped down to sit on the ground, his eyes red and streaming with tears, but he nodded his head in agreement. -"okay, yeah, im sorry, that's my bad, I shouldn't have done that, but you left so suddenly. I...I..oh my god this hurts." 

He laughed, really hoping he wasn't going to go blind from this, that would not be good for his career, but he supposed it wasn't impossible.-"I won't go blind, right?" 

Klaus huffed, but bent down to help him up.-"no, not unless I spray you with it like fifty times, here, my place is nearby, I'll help you wash it out." 

Dave let himself be guided down the street, silently relishing in the hand clasped in his own. Minutes later, he was sitting in Klaus' kitchen, holding a milk soaked washcloth to his eyes. -"yep, out of all of the mace remedies, milk works the best, just give it a couple minutes and the burning should go away."

Dave nodded along, wishing he wasn't so bleary-eyed so he could get a proper look at Klaus' place. He wondered what kind of decorations were on the walls? Was it a cozy vibe or a clean modern vibe? He had his money on cozy. -"I'm still sorry you know?"- he spoke up, remembering what got him here in the first place. He heard Klaus snort, but he couldn't tell if it was a fond or exasperated one. 

"Don't worry about it, I probably should have expected a reaction like that, and I can be a bit emotional at times, but my therapist says that's due to the years and years of drug use too."-klaus sounded good natured, but there was a tone of self deprecation to it too, that had him frowning. 

"Klaus, I know I'm washing my eyes out with milk right now and I'm definitely not half as smooth as the guys you read about in your novels, but I really like you and would love to go on another date with you again soon."-he felt like his heart was going to beat out of chest, he was thankful his voice didn't crack, cause believe it or not, this was the first time he was asking someone out. People always came to him, they never amounted to much, cause his admirers always found out his personality was far too awkward to match his good looks, but he never really minded cause he always had his stories and other media to distract himself from a real relationship. He had been fine with just that and the odd hookups he could score in the gay bars if he ever really was that desperate, at least untill he met Klaus. Only one date in and he already wanted more, didn't even care one bit about his past, he wanted today and however many more days Klaus would allow him. 

Klaus laughed, it wasn't mean spirited per say, more like surprised and disbelieving, but Dave's blood ran cold all the same. He should have known a stupid modeling career could only get you so far with people. Klaus was way too good for a guy like him. -"Are you seriously asking me out on a second date?"-klaus asked, still sounding particularly tickled by the fact. 

Dave felt a tight ball lodge in his throat, glad the towel was already damp and could hide his tears. He had never felt lamer in his life, sat in his crushes kitchen, crying into a milk soaked rag he had pressed to his eyes as said crush basically admonished him for thinking he could get a second chance after how bad he had fucked up. With all of his strength, he shrugged a shoulder, uttering out a wet, -"y-yeah."- in response, voice thick with shame and sorrow. 

"Oh, shit, I didn't mean to make you cry"-klaus hissed, coming to bend down between his legs and peel the washcloth away from his eyes. They were still sore and probably a bit red from both the mace and his emotions, but the milk definitely helped and he could see Klaus a lot clearer than before. The man staring up at him with a sad pinched look. -"Dave, I didn't mean it like that." 

Dave frowned, wanting to be upset with Klaus, but having a hard time at it. -"how'd you mean it then?" 

Klaus quirked a smile, Dave having no choice but to return the gesture. -"Dave, I dropped the 'im an ex druggie' bomb on you, then stormed out of our first date and fucking maced you, I would be hard pressed to want a second date if I were you." 

Dave shook his head, his hand coming down to gently cup the side of Klaus' face, his thumb stroking over the apple of his cheek. To his utter enjoyment, Klaus leaned into the touch, his eyes fluttering closed for a second. -"pretty sure I deserved to get maced, I was chasing you darlin, and I probably should have said something when you told me all that, but I froze and choked up. I promise you though, I don't care about that, not one bit, I just want to be able to see you again. I really enjoyed our time together." 

A slow smile graced Klaus' lips, he turned in Dave's hand to press a kiss to his palm, -"yeah, okay, I'll go out with you again, what do you have in mind?" 

Once again, Dave was going completely blank in the brain department, he hadn't thought that far ahead.-"wha-whatever you want to do, I just want to spend time with you." 

Klaus' eyebrows rose to his hairline, then he was slowly turning pink in the face. He never had someone be so interested in his company and his company alone. His body, yeah, he was used to that. His ability to communicate with the dead? A little more rear, but it's happened enough times for him to count. Dave though, he legitimately liked Klaus for his personality. In the corner of the room, he could hear Ben snickering, teasing him for getting flustered over the least scandalous thing a man has ever said to him. -"alright, if that's what you want, then I suppose you wouldn't mind taking me out to a fancy restaurant and buying me dinner and wine?" 

Dave grinned, nodding his head in answer. -"wherever you want to go, I'll take you and I promise I'll be a much better companion this time." 

Klaus snorted, rising from his spot and taking the milk soaked rag from Dave's hands.-"I think you're already doing a great job if you can handle all my whiplash emotions and outbursts."-he said, ringing the rag out over the sink. 

"I think I can handle whatever you want me to handle."-Dace purred, coming up behind Klaus and settling his hands on his hips. 

Klaus grinned, but he didn't think Dave could see it, so he decided to play around a bit.-"Dave."-he commented. 

Dave hummed, slowly swaying their hips to an invisible beat. -"yeah"? 

"I'm not a hussie, get your hands off me." Klaus answered back, barely holding in a laugh as Dave removed his hands while instantaneously taking a giant step back. He was red faced as he cleared his throat and tried to recover from the mishap. 

"Yes, of course you're not, sorry, sorry, I forgot my manners there. I promise you I'm a gentleman and don't expect anything from you. I just-"-he was used to his pretty boy in New York Life style, as a model it was easy for him to find just about anyone in a bar or club and have them in his bed by the end of the night. He had just forgotten though, that he hadn't met Klaus in any of those places, they met in a bookstore. 

Klaus burst out laughing, coming over to pull Dave into a hug as he giggled into his chest.-"It's okay, I know Dave, I'm just messing around, mostly. I haven't actually had sex in a while, my last partner was a women I met on an app a couple months into my sobriety, but we didn't last very long, and I'v just been focusing on staying clean after that, so I don't have any of the neccesties on me at the moment, let alone am I cleaned out enough for any of those kinds of activities, unless you are?" 

Dave blinked, taking that all in. He could bottom, but like Klaus he wasn't exactly prepared for it either and if Klaus didn't have condoms and lube, then he most definitely didn't, they'd have to go to his place for those. He doubted Klaus would want to trek all the way there just so they could have sex, plus it just didn't feel right for their situation. He slowly wrapped his arms around Klaus, returning his embrace and just being happy with this physical contact he was giving him. -"that's alright, it's not a good time, I'm more than happy to wait till it is." 

Klaus hummed and rubbed a hand over his back before slowly pulling out of the embrace. -"I don't want to kick you out, but I have my brother coming over for his monthly drug inspection of my place, which at this point is just us catching up and chatting over dinner and a movie." 

Dave nodded, glad to hear Klaus had a good relationship with his family, but also a little sad to have to say goodbye.-"yeah, I understand, I gotta get home too, but uh, I'll be back, maybe this Saturday, I'll pick you up at six?" 

Klaus grinned, slowly leading him to the door. -"six sounds perfect, but wait, let me just."-he ran back into the kitchen, returning with a pen and a piece of paper, hurriedly scribbling his number on it.-"shoot me a call or text anytime."-he told him, pressing the paper into his hand with a big grin. Dave quickly folded it up and put it into his pocket, already making plans to text Klaus the moment he got home. 

"Of course, thank you, I, I guess I'll see you Saturday then."-He said, still stood awkwardly at the door, waiting for something, but he just wasn't sure what. 

Klaus smiled back at him, tipping his head in an expectant manner and Dave was finally catching on that he was just embarrassing himself the longer he stood there and finally turned to leave. -"alright then, guess I'm off."-he opened up the door, but before he could walk out, a hand landed in his shoulder. He turned back around to see what Klaus wanted, but he was soon met with lips against his own. The soft peck it started out as, soon turned into an open mouth exchange of tongues and clacking teeth. Painstakingly slowly, Klaus finally pulled away, the two of them breathless and just staring into each other's eyes, faces flushed. -"see you Saturday Dave."- he smirked, pushing him out the door with his green eyes dancing in mischief. 

Dave watched in a daze as Klaus shut the door on him, that same shit eating smirk on his face as he waved goodbye. A second later he shook himself out of it, noticing the current discomfort in his trousers and realizing he was going to have to walk home with a boner. -"that little shit."-he chuckled under his breath, trying to pull his shirt over his groin in an attempt to cover his little, er, big, bigger than average, he swears, problem. Even as awkward as the walk back home was, he still couldn't keep the grin off his face. God, was he glad he chased after Klaus when he did, getting maced was definitely worth scoring another date with the man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think this is the first story where I made Dave a bit of a himbo, I know that's a popular headcanon but I never really got around to exploring it. Also made this chapter a lot longer, since I was told the first was far too short. Let me know if I should do a third and final chapter, I'm thinking a time skip and a wedding chapter.

**Author's Note:**

> Did I write a meet-cute drabble while I have two whole WIPs pending? Yeah, yeah I did T-T. This was fun to make though and definitely didn't take as long as a usual chapter for one of my fics do, but now I kind of want to make a Dave POV sequel to it. Probably should finish what I have in my drafts first though.


End file.
